The present invention relates to an apparatus for coiling and inserting a liner made of flexible sheet material into a hollow cylindrical container, such as a canister for shipping and/or storing artillery ammunition. The liner serves as a packing material between the contents and the inner surface of the container.
This has heretofore usually been done manually, which is not only time-consuming but also becomes difficult with large size liners for large caliber ammunition.
In accordance with the invention, the liner is placed on a table and started into a longitudinally-slotted cylindrical tube open at one end and having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the container to be lined. The liner is then moved into the tube and formed into a coil therein by a first tangential air jet perpendicular to the slot. After the liner is entirely within the tube, it is moved axially through the open end of the tube and into an axially-aligned container by a second tangential air jet directed at an angle of about 45.degree. to the slot. The resilience of the liner causes it to spring outward slightly to snugly fit within the container. The liner may be fed into the slot either manually or automatically. The air jets may be started and stopped either manually or automatically. The first air jet may be either stopped or left on when the second air jet is started.